so says kevin noonan, a molecular biologist and patent lawyer, who often defends the biotech industry. >> without the biotech companies, you don't have the things that give you better health in the first place. >> noonan says that patents reward financial risk and that biotech companies would not undertake the huge investment necessary if there was no economic payoff. and while he can't speak for myriad and their breast cancer genes, he believes the price they charge for their test is a fair one. >> you're not only paying that $3,000 for this particular test, but how many years did people try to find this gene and not succeed? and how many other genes have they looked at and not succeeded? that costs money. that costs investment. >> the whole debate is a far cry from the days of jonas salk, who, in 1955, announced he developed a vaccine for polio. >> who owns the patent on this vaccine? >> there is no patent. this is--could you patent the sun? >> he said it was like trying to patent the sun. >> yes, i know. but maybe it was a slightly different time. today you're going to have to have